ABN Amro booked net profit of €948m last year, an increase of 38% on 2011, the nationalised bank said on Friday. The bank did make a net loss of €97m in the fourth quarter.

The loss was prompted by the cost of integrating parts of Fortis into the group, a process which was finalised last year, the bank said. A further €112m went towards paying the newly-introduced tax on banking.

‘We have been conducting our ordinary business in not-so-ordinary times,’ chief executive Gerrit Zalm said in a statement. ‘The economic environment continued to be challenging in 2012. Despite these circumstances, the bank delivered satisfactory results for full-year 2012.’

The bank is to pay a €250m dividend to the Dutch state, as sole shareholder, but plans to reduce this next year in order to boost its financial buffers.